Hey, all -

Here are some photos of my system, 'submitted for your approval'...



This is the standard, 'Look! I can find where to put my head unit' photo.



The iPod - Once you get one, you'll never go back. I also mounted another 12v jack in my glove box. After tweaking modifry's glove box organizer a bit, I found a neat way to mount the jack so that it is pretty much invisible. Once I received the black 12v firewire power adapter I ordered, the iPod will also receive power thru the same grommet that the headphone jack passes thru. That way I can set my iPod for full-time backlight, and not worry about the battery condition. (The unit located in the 'coin holder' is my hands-free controller.)



Wlaurent's sub enclosure, 1 of 2. I would post a pic of the right-hand side of my trunk, but until my s2ki.com membership gets processed, I only get 5 photos. Until then, print this photo and hold it against a mirror - There's my full trunk. (Oh, you better mentally add the spare tire cover on the right side while you're at it.) Those enclosures kick some very nice bass, especially when paired with JL's. Amazing. Plus they look good (If I do say so myself.) The openings in the amp cover in the tool well or for ventilation and so I can see the voltage indicator on my line capacitor. (This is probably more for show than go, but as long as there were things to see, why not see them?)



Here's the crown jewel of my system, the amazing JL 500/5. I love this amp. Thanks so much for PAS2KNut for sending me down this path. A big amp for such a small trunk, but in the tool well, it does quite nicely. To fight over-heating, I purposefully left a 1/2" gap on either side of my amp cover board, and added a squirrel-cage fan (visible on the top right of the photo). My line cap is under my amp. I completely mutilated my foam tool kit, and added the cap and my crossovers. 3/4" MDF separates everything below, so there are no noise issues whatsoever.



To power it all, 4 ga. wire. Getting that thru the firewall wasn't much fun, but that big grommet to the lower left behind the battery will finally see your point of view if you keep working with it.



No photos, but I have Diamond Audio components mounted in the stock speaker locations, and that includes getting their tweeters into my stock speaker pods. Props to Lucid for their suggestions, and for the rear speaker kit - Very clean and easy way to go. Also, thanks to modifry (Lucid) for the DCI - Best way to go with aftermarket HUs.

Please let me know any suggestions you might have to improve upon my install. (Oh, except for the 'JL sucks - you should have gotten...' Money already gone there. But if you see something that should be adjusted, etc., let me know.)

Thanks for your time, and your bandwidth!

 

Great choice on the Diamond Audio's!! My personal Fav!

 

looks good man...

only thing i might comment on is the clearance above the amp for cooling... if you can easily buy a little more height, it might let things run a bit cooler. nice to see you using the Stinger fan (am i seeing correctly?). how did you end up mounting that little guy? i considered it, but found i didn't have the clearance... i ended up having to go w/ some super thin traditional fans... how's heat with that setup?

 

Thanks!! Heat has yet to be a problem, but I guess I have yet to do a road trip to Vegas in 110 degree heat yet to validate that. I do tend to play my music at rather high (not deafening) volume most of the time I'm in the car. So far, so good. I mounted the Stinger fan just above the heat sink on the amp on my rack. The fan intake clears the sink by about 1/4". (A tight fit to be sure!) I might extend the length of the legs holding up the top board by another 1/2" or so, as that's about all the room I have before I start coming up beyond flush with the rest of the trunk floor. I guess I could put some sort of thermometer back there to measure this with some degree of accuracy. Any suggestions?

 

Sleepy-

Looking good. What JL sub are you using? Also, the only recommendation I have is from an aesthetic standpoint. Move the IR Transmitter in the first picture and put it behind the vent.





First find a drill bit that is the same diameter as the IR transmitter. Then drill a small hole on the underside of the vent. Insert the IR transmitter from the back side. Just makes it a cleaner install. The picture is not very clear, however, you get the idea and you don't have the IR hanging out.
Again looks good!

 

PAS2KNut - Thanks so much! I was thinking the same thing about the IR transmitter when I installed it, but I didn't know exactly how to go about doing that without moving it somehow beyond its operable range. I would love to see any pix you have to help me out. Do you need to use any sort of adhesive to keep mounted within the hole? I would love to move it to clean up the install. As far as the JL's go, I'm running 8W3's. (Last year's model - they were discontinuing them when I purchased them, so I got them at a good price.) I hear the 8W3v2's are amazing. They certainly look good. Thanks again - As I indicated in my first post, your 500/5 install prompted me to run the way I did with my system.

 

Picture added. I went to the car and snapped a quick picture. The quality is not the best, but it gives you an idea. I did not use any adhesive just made sure it was a tight fit. I should have documented what drill bit I used. I may have to give the 8w3v2 a try. Glad to hear you are pleased with the amp. I've not had any problems with overheating and I've done a couple of 10 hour drives. Granted the temps were not in the 100's either.

 

The only problem I see by having the IR transmitter in the vent is the fact you MUST keep the radio door open when attempting to use the remote control features. IMHO, that is a major disadvantage of this approach. By keeping the transmitter where it is (just above the HU), you can operate the unit with the door either open or closed. Just my $.02.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by InsaneInNC
[B]The only problem I see by having the IR transmitter in the vent is the fact you MUST keep the radio door open when attempting to use the remote control features.

 

while it is far from accurate, a general rule of thumb is that if you can't hold your finger on the heatsink for more than about 2-3 seconds w/o it feeling uncomfortably hot - it's too hot. we've used that as a rule of thumb on pump and motor bearings, and it typically means you're exceeding 125 deg F.
give the stereo a good run one day, then when you arrive where you're going - get out, pop the trunk and give it a feel... you may be good as is... if not, try giving it a little clearance. the JL amps are nice in how they have their heatsinks located...
if your then curious as to exact ambient temps, you could probably leave an oven thermometer back there... i also think RS sells a little digital thermocouple/display for a somewhat reasonable price... (remembered seeing it a long time ago, no recollection of model or price though)

i mainly just mention it b/c i originally started out w/ a fairly tight clearance (close to yours) and ended up having to increase my height a little to gain better cooling.

regarding your IR emitter.... i'm not 100% sure how S2kNut has his mounted in the vent and can still keep his radio door closed, so i'm missing something. but you can see here in my setup(2nd pic down) that you really don't need much hanging out at all... even in direct sunlight on the headunit, i don't have problems w/ the DCI. i am using Modifry/Lucid's DCI. i've yet to have anyone ask me what the little 'dot' above my radio is... most people don't even know it's there till i point it out.

finally - if you get motivated - i'd love to see more detail shots of your amp install... having spent quite a while playing with mine and getting it right, i'd love to see what other solutions were out there... that JL looks incredible, btw.



edit:
infrared thermometer at the Shack
another thermometer that could possibly work from the Shack
neither of these is the one i remembered, but both could work... i honestly don't think you need either unless you're getting excessive heat issues or are really curious...